Love of a Rose
by Adam123456789098
Summary: Ginny is being constantly harassed by Pansy as Pansy tries to deal with the fact that she can't get the red-headed girl out of her mind and can't figure out why. But when they are forced to work together after the implementation of a new Competition they will find much more than just a teammate in each other. Slow burn Femslash, G!P Pansy, AU. On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**A.N** This story is thanks to Dark Yellow Dino for requesting another Pansy and Ginny Fic, so here is the beginning.

Also I've been thinking about making a Twitter account that I can update daily with what I'll be working on and if I can work on anything on a given day so if you would like that please, let me know.

But above all, please enjoy this Fic.

 _ **Ginny**_

Sitting in the Great Hall, I was pretending to listen to Harry as he rambled about the Ministry of Magic's newest attempt at creating a way to get the schools of the world interacting. They had chosen Hogwarts, as well as a handful of other schools, to participate in the testing phase of a Competition that Ludo had been working on. He claimed that the Competition was going to bring in a new era of friendly competition and a new level of fun to the school system. It was a claim I was ready to ignore as they had tried again and again to bring something like this to the schools, but it never worked out the way they wanted.

But the worst part of the Competition was that it didn't matter if you wanted to join in or not, as it had been made a compulsory event and every single student had to join a team and take part in the whole charade. Naturally, I was roped in by Ron and Harry and forced to join their team along with Hermione and Neville. Neither of which were too thrilled that they had to participate in the Competition's testing phase.

"Hey Gin, are you listening to me?" Harry asked frustratedly as he waved a hand in front of my expressionless face.

I focused back on Harry, "No I'm not, is this really important?" I asked, my own frustration shining through, "I mean, you and Ron have both been blathering on about this thing ever since the announcement last year and quite frankly I'm getting rather annoyed at the both of you."

Harry shook his head at me, evidently angry that I didn't really care about any of it, "Come on, can't you get excited? We're going to be the first Witches and Wizards that get to participate in this competition."

"Yeah, and based on History we'll be the last, if you actually knew anything then you'd know that these experiments always fail. The Ministry never regulates these things properly, and someone always gets seriously injured, or the whole thing is too overly safe, and no one ends up caring because it's so boring."

Harry huffed in annoyance, "That was before Ludo became the Head of the Department of Games and Sports last year. Ever since he was appointed he's been working tirelessly to create this competition for us," Harry defended the Competition, using a snippet from the latest article to be released in the Daily Prophet.

"And how much did that article cost I wonder, the Daily Prophet only post articles that will gather more readers for their paper. And with the Article being written by Rita Skeeter herself, they must have paid a large sum to make sure it was a full-blown puff piece."

"No way," Harry sputtered, eager to defend his opinion on the Competition, "Rita Skeeter wouldn't care about the money, all she wants is for her articles to be read, so the only reason it was a glowing article is that there is nothing to fault with the Competition."

I nodded my head slowly, "Sure, sure," I said, not very willing to continue fighting a pointless battle, "We'll just have to see, won't we." Harry nodded his head, apparently satisfied with waiting until the evidence is right in front of us before rendering judgment on the upcoming Game.

"Hey guy's what're you talking about?" Ron asked as he, Neville and Hermione approached our spot at the Gryffindor table.

"Do you even need to ask?" I asked exasperatedly eliciting a soft laugh from Hermione and Neville, they both felt much like I did, although they each had their own reasons for doing so.

Neville actually thought the Competition was a good idea and was mildly excited, but had earlier confided in me that he was scared and wished that he didn't need to take part. Neville had always preferred to watch from the sidelines. Never really one to seek out fame or notoriety, but he did like the idea of being able to interact with Witches and Wizards from other schools while watching his classmates battle for a trophy.

Hermione on the other hand just saw the Competition as a distraction, preferring to focus on studying the theory of magic rather than the practical. I always wished that she would focus more on the practical side of magic, theory was all well and good, but if Hermione were less of a bookworm, then she could quickly become the best Witch of her age, not just the brightest.

I smiled as the trio sat down with us, Ron and Harry immediately started gushing over the upcoming announcement about the competition while Neville turned to me. Hermione immediately pulled out the book she had most recently found in the Library and quickly started reading.

"Did you hear what happened to Draco recently?" Neville asked excitedly causing Hermione to sigh before tuning us out.

"No, what happened?" I asked the boy, glad for the topic change and excited to find out if Malfoy had finally gotten what he deserved.

"Well as you know he'd recently turned against one of his own for some reason, as it turns out that person was actually Pansy."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion, "Really? Weren't they dating?"

Neville shook his head happily, "No, that was a false rumor started by Draco himself. Pansy found out and confronted him, which was when he apparently asked her out, and she understandably said no." Neville explained, "But anyway, she got fed up with his jabs and jibes for turning him down. So she cast the Slug-Vomiting Charm on him, he spent all night in the Hospital Wing."

I smiled in delight at the news, "No way, that's awesome. It's too bad he didn't get her at the same time, she needs to be taken down a ped too," Neville laughed along with me.

"To rig-"

I raised an eyebrow as Neville abruptly stopped speaking, he was staring behind me, a terrified look on his face. Slowly I turned around and came face to face with the black-haired, pale girl that we were just talking about. She held a satisfied grin on her face as she looked between mine and Neville's scared faces.

"And who's going to do that?" She asked, "You little boy? Are you going to take me down a peg?" She stared sharply into Neville's scared eyes, and with a sudden jerk of her arm, sent Neville scurrying to the other end of the table. I realized as I watched him go that the entire Great Hall had gone silent and were now staring at Pansy and me. I looked around desperately for a Professor but was quickly disappointed as not one was in sight. I sighed in frustration over the teachers never being around when they were really needed before turning back to the girl that was bullying me.

Pansy's hand disappeared inside her cloak as I turned towards her and she brandished her wand, holding it loosely between two fingers. I sat in my seat resolutely, I wasn't going to let the girl scare me off, not again, I was going to hold my ground for once, I was a Gryffindor, and it was about time I acted like one… _Be brave,_ I chanted over and over again inside my head.

"How about you little mouse? Are you going to 'Take me down a peg'?" She asked, her wand spinning casually in her fingers, "Or are you going to run away along with your little boyfriend?"

I cocked my head to one side, as I fought the urge to laugh at that statement, mostly because I knew Neville was still in earshot and I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I just shook my head at the taller girl before slowly getting to my feet with a smile on my face. Pansy looked irritated, she stopped twirling her wand around and instead gripped it firmly, undoubtedly ready to strike at a moment's notice.

I looked hard into Pansy's eyes, keeping my voice level as I started to speak "I'm not going to run," I told her, "I'm not scared," But despite my words and calm voice I could feel myself shaking ever so slightly under the girl's cold gaze.

The irritated look slipped from Pansy's face as it was replaced with her trademark grin, she had seen right through me and knew that I was lying to her, "Then let's duel," a menacing smile spread across the girls face as I visibly shivered. "Of course, we don't really need to," Pansy spoke, mocking me with every word that left her mouth, "All you have to do is admit in front of all these people, that yes, you actually are afraid."

I looked around at the students, all with varying degrees of annoyance, anger or jubilation as they either cheered Pansy on or stood silently, not doing anything to help. I fought back against humiliation, but it was a battle that I ultimately lost. My shoulders sagged in defeat as tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall, couldn't allow them fall in front of everyone and especially not in front of her.

"I am afraid," I whispered, hoping that Pansy would accept it and just leave me alone.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" The pale girl asked as she held a hand up to her ear, "I'm not sure I heard you, maybe you should speak up a little, what do you guy's think? Should she speak up so all of you can hear her?" Pansy asked the crowd, the few that weren't cheering and agreeing with the girl simply remained silent.

I gritted my teeth and glared at the older girl, "I am afraid," I said more loudly, "I. Am. Afraid!" I yelled as my anger overtook my fear and humiliation.

But just as quickly as my had anger risen, it once again slipped back behind the fear, and I curled my emotions into a tight ball. Now the only noise in the Great Hall was coming from those laughing at the situation that had just played out before them as they returned to their seats.

Pansy leaned in close to me, placing a hand on my shoulder softly, much softer than I had ever thought that she was capable of, and whispered into my ear "And don't you forget it." The dark-haired girl walked away, her head held high as she took pride in her domination over me.

Slumping down on the chair next to me I breathed a sigh of relief that I had been left mostly unscathed, but something kept rattling around in my head, something that confused the hell out of me. The tone that Pansy had whispered to me in was… She sounded hurt like something was wrong. I glanced in the girl's direction and watched as she laughed with her friends, no doubt mocking Neville and I and I realized that I must have been imagining things.

I turned back to Ron and Harry who had decided to ignore what happened and continued talking to each other about their strategy for the Competition. Neville quickly joined them once he had gathered enough courage to return to our little group. Hermione, on the other hand, grabbed me by the sleeve of my robes and led me out of the Great Hall and out to the Cobblestone Courtyard.

The Courtyard was practically devoid of life as most of the students had either already gathered in the Great Hall or were on their way so they could hear the latest announcement regarding the Competition. Only a few stragglers sat in the Courtyard, each one was far out of earshot which, by the look on Hermione's face, was a good thing.

"Are you okay?" She asked before merely extending her arms to me.

I felt the pain as it bubbled up from the pit of my stomach and I threw myself into Hermione's arms as tears slipped from my eyes. I wasn't okay, I was only kidding myself earlier, but with Hermione's warm embrace and comforting words, I was able to let my emotions out.

"It'll be okay Ginny," Hermione spoke softly into my ear as I cried silently on her shoulder, "Someday this will all be just a memory. And when that day comes, I'll be by your side, and we'll be laughing about that old Witch that used to bully you."

I nodded my head as my tears slowly stopped, "But why can't that time be now? Why does she need to mistreat everyone?" I asked, hoping my smart best-friend had the answers, she knew everything after all.

"I'm sorry Ginny, I don't know," Hermione said simply before pulling me back towards the school, "Come on, the announcement will be happening soon, we don't want to miss that lest we face the wrath of Ron and Harry."

I nodded with a small smile on my face, "Yeah, neither Ron nor Harry would forgive us if we missed it."

"That's my girl," The brunette said as she wiped away the tear tracks that were running down my face before putting an arm around my shoulders.

We walked through the Halls of the castle towards the Great Hall quickly, all the while I stayed in Hermione's arm, drawing as much comfort as I could from her. I knew she was glad that she could be of help to me, she wasn't the best with people but had been able to feel comfortable around me. I wasn't a hundred percent sure why but I had a feeling she saw me as something of a younger sister, as she was an only child I was happy to oblige.

 _ **Pansy**_

I watched Angrily as Hermione and Ginny walked into the Great Hall, they had looked terribly cozy as they walked towards the Great Hall. I clenched my fists beneath the sleaves of my robes, cursing the brunette as she disappeared through the massive double doors of the Great Hall.

"Oh, hello Ms Parkinson," I was startled out of my anger by the sudden appearance of the ghost Nearly-Headless Nick.

"Hello Nick," I said with a slight nod before walking into the Great Hall myself.

I scanned the Gryffindor table, sneering as I watched Ginny laughing with her friends, a hot ball of jealousy filling my stomach as I ached to be the one sitting next to the red-head. Shaking away the thought I walked over to the girls I had surrounded myself with, mentally groaning as they gossiped about which boy in our year they thought was the cutest. The girls were easy to use to pass the time, just as Draco had been before he tried to get too close to me. I just hoped that these girls would keep their distance, I had done what I could to find the most superficial girls in Slytherin, but I wasn't sure it was enough.

For now, they were just happy to be on a higher level than the rest of their fellow Slytherins by being in the inner circle of the Heir of one of the so-called 'Sacred Twenty-Eight.' But I knew that eventually they would try to get closer, try to become an actual friend to me and I knew that I would have to cut the cord. But right now, I was able to live my life the same way I have since I was a little girl, except for that red-headed annoyance. I glared in her direction as I thought of her, something about the girl just set me on edge.

"What's wrong Pansy?" One of my 'friends' asked as she looked in the direction I was staring in.

"It's nothing," I shrugged off the question and focused back on the girls around me, but their conversation was still about boring romance, and I just couldn't listen to that crap, so instead I sat and waited for Dumbledore's announcement.

"Students of Hogwarts," A voice sounded from Dumbledore's podium, I looked up, and a man I'd never seen before was standing there, his wand pressed against his throat to amplify his voice. "My name is Ludovic Bagman, but you can all just call me Ludo." A large number of the students cheered the man, and I couldn't understand why, the man was only the Head of Games and Sports, what was the big deal?

"As you all know I have been working on a Competition for about a year now that is designed to bring the various Magical Schools together in competition. You will all be taking part in it this year as it needs to be tested before we bring it to the rest of the Schools around the world. The first few preliminary 'Challenges' as I have taken to calling them, will be held amongst the students of each individual school so we can find the top three teams of each school. Those teams will then be pitted against one another, but I will explain that in more detail when we get to it.

However, unlike in the other two schools that have been selected to test this Competition we have decided to do something different for this school." A wave of chatter broke out amongst the students that had been hanging on the mans every word. Ludovic raised his hands, "Hush now Boys and Girls, no need to speculate as I will explain right now. As is well known, this school has four different houses, and each House tends to mix, for the most part, amongst themselves. As has been heavily shown with the various teams that you have decided on amongst yourselves. But this competition was made to get everyone mixing and having fun with people they usually wouldn't think to pick.

Which is why I along with your Headmaster and Professor McGonagall have decided that your teams will only consist of four pupils each and each pupil must be from a different house." The murmurs returned once again, the decision had not gone over well with the majority of other students, but I couldn't bring myself to really care. Now that I wasn't able to be with the people I know and had hand-picked, it didn't really matter who I was paired with, I would be the leader either way. No one would be brave enough to tell me what to do anyway, whether I chose them or not.

"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore's voice rang out above the students as they refused to quiet down at Ludovic's request.

"Thank you, Headmaster," The brunette nodded slightly in the Headmasters direction before continuing his speech. "Furthermore, to circumvent anyone just choosing people they already know we are also going to be adding a fun little way for the teams to be decided. It's sort of an experiment, but then again that's what this whole experience is going to be. Instead of you all choosing your own teams, the teams will be randomly selected by using a relic from a past failed attempt."

A massive wooden chalice appeared in front of Ludovic, it was adorned with intricate carvings that covered it from the base to the top. A blue flame was burning inside the middle of the cup, magics working to keep the chalice from catching alight. The chalice sat on a large piece of stone that looked to be an old piece of a column.

"Some of you may have heard about this particular gem, it was used in the Triwizard Tournament after all." The old man raised his hand, pre-emptively quietening any chatter from erupting amongst the students at the mention of the Ministries most dangerous attempt at a Competition meant for students. "All of your names have already been entered into the Goblet of Fire, and in a few days it will choose the teams, those team decisions are final, you may not switch out of those teams under any circumstances."

With that the man descended from the podium and sat at the teacher's table, allowing Dumbledore to stand so he could announce the start of the dinner feast. I had always found it strange that the old man insisted on religiously declaring the beginning of each dinner feast, but it was something I had come to accept over the years.

I quickly grabbed a serving of roast potatoes with a side of a garden salad and boiled vegetables, before watching as my friends grabbed the exact same. They immediately started to converse with each other, while I wondered just why they all decided on eating the same thing as me, or even when.

A flash of red caught my attention, and my eyes were once again drawn to the Gryffindor table and the girl that would not leave my mind filled my vision. Only this time it was different, something seemed off, I could have sworn my eyes had connected with Ginny's for a second. But just as I thought that all I could see was the back of the girl's head, her fiery hair the only part of her that I could see. So our eyes couldn't have connected, but something at the back of my mind told me that it had happened.

Quickly shutting the quiet voice up, I turned to the girl sitting next to me, a young Irish girl with blond hair. I had found her wondering the school grounds alone one day and took pity on her, bringing her under my wing. She was the one girl that I could see myself keeping as a friend because she didn't gossip, didn't gush over anyone and was practically silent unless someone spoke to her.

"How's class been, Adelaide?" I asked with a smile.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, "Okay I guess," Was the girl's vague answer.

"Come on, I thought we were past this Adelaide, we're friends now, remember?" I brightened my smile as much as I could in the hopes of getting the girl to talk. My hopes were dashed however as the girl just shrugged once more, playing with the food that she had grabbed. "You know you could have grabbed something else, you don't need to eat what I eat."

Once again, the young blond just shrugged her shoulders, causing me to sigh in defeat and just eat my food. I could wait for Adelaide to speak to me, she was never able to not answer my questions properly, even if that meant she ended up waking me in the middle of the night because she couldn't sleep. Which, much to my surprise, didn't actually bother me in the slightest, I always caught myself pondering why but had never been able to come up with an answer.

I felt as a something was pressed into the palm of my left hand, and I quickly realized it was a small piece of parchment. I looked over at the blond girl that had passed it to me with a confused look, but she continued to play with her food instead of looking up at me. I turned back to the note, opening it under the table I quickly read the contents.

 _I'm scared, Pansy,_

 _They're going to pair me with some people I don't know…_

 _I don't know if I can do it._

My heart went out to the young girl, she really wasn't cut out for the upcoming competition, she was far too shy, too polite, too courteous. I still wondered why the Sorting Hat had placed her in Slytherin, but it was never wrong, or so our Professor's would have us believe.

I rested a hand on the girl's shoulder and pulled her towards me, allowing her to take what little comfort she could in my arm. The action garnered several confused looks, but no one dared say a thing, especially as a tear slipped from the blond girl's eye.

"It'll all be okay," I whispered to her, "Just you wait and see, you'll be placed with some lovely people, and they'll help you through the whole thing okay?" Adelaide nodded but was clearly unconvinced by my words.

For the rest of the feast, the blond girl was tucked under my arm, slowly eating away at her plate before it was time for us to head back to the Common Room. I walked her back, and up to the Dormitories before we were separated from each other by the different rooms, we had been allocated.

"Good night," I whispered to the girl as she slipped from under my arm, and into the Third-Year Dorms.

Slinking towards the Fifth-Year dorms I sighed, I didn't know why I was so protective of this girl, she just seemed to have slipped past my defenses so easily. I quickly changed from my uniform into a pair of pajamas and laid down in my bed, my mind a whirl with everything that had happened today. But as had been for the last few weeks, the last face I saw before sleep overcame me, was the smiling face of Ginny Weasley.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.** Me being an idiot I forgot to add this at the start of chapter one so here we go. Just a little information that people need to know, the wizarding war _never_ happened, and Pansy's look is more reminiscent of what she looked like in the earlier movies rather than the later ones.

 _ **Ginny**_

"Hey Gin! Hurry up!" Harry hurried me on from his spot at the doors to the Great Hall.

Shaking my head, I begrudgingly picked up my pace, it was time for the Goblet to decide on our teams and while it didn't matter whether or not I was present for it, I preferred to know what I was in for sooner. Harry smiled as I came close, he put an arm around my shoulders and walked into the Great Hall with me.

"This is going to be great!" Harry enthused, having gotten over the shock that he would not be able to compete with me and the others rather quickly.

"Is it though?" Ron asked as he joined us, eyeing Harry with a suspicious gaze out of the corner of his eye.

Oblivious to my brother's gaze Harry nodded happily, "It is, sure we might not be able to fight together like we always planned, but it's still going to be a lot of fun."

Ron huffed before walking on ahead and joining Hermione and Neville who had already taken their usual seats at the Gryffindor table. Harry removed his arm from around me and hurried after my brother; I rolled my eyes at the dark-haired boy before sitting down next to Hermione.

"Hey Ginny, how are you feeling?" Hermione asked without looking up from her book.

"Kind of annoyed," I replied as I watched the dancing blue flames of the Goblet, "Why do we need to take part in this stupid event anyway?"

Hermione laughed softly at my complaining, "Try to have some fun, okay? We have to be part of this stupid thing; we might as well give it a fair shot."

I raised an eyebrow at the bookworm, not that she would have noticed with her eyes firmly glued to the pages before her, "I miss the days when you agreed with me," I spoke with a dramatic sigh. "Where did the magic go?"

Hermione grinned but said nothing as she continued to read her book, I quickly lost interest and quietly sat and waited for Mr Bagman and Professor Dumbledore to start the process of choosing the teams. As I waited, I could feel a nagging feeling at the back of my head like someone was looking at me, but as I looked around, I couldn't find anyone looking at me. Even so, the feeling never left, not until the Headmaster approached his podium with Mr Bagman by his side.

"Alright everyone, quiet down now," Professor Dumbledore spoke with authority, causing the chatter in the Great Hall to die down within seconds. The Professor nodded with a smile before motioning to the Goblet, "The teams have been chosen, and the Goblet will soon start throwing out the names for each team, but before then Ludo has something he wishes to say."

The Headmaster made way for the younger man who graciously took the podium; he smiled as he looked out over the room full of students, "I just wanted to wish every one of you luck in the Competition. I know not all of you would like to take part, and I would like to extend my sincere gratitude in advance to every one of you for helping me to create the next big Competition. You all have my word that should this fail I will not just scrap the plan and try something else as my predecessors have done before me. No, I will continue to work until this Competition becomes something that we can all be proud of, something that I hope every one of you will want to try and win."

The flames of the goblet started dancing wildly before a small piece of parchment shot from the top, the smoking piece of paper fluttering gracefully into Professor Dumbledores outstretched hand.

"Well it appears my time is up," Mr Bagman said as moved away from the podium, motioning for the Headmaster to retake his position.

"Thank you, Ludo. Now for the first team," The entire room went silent as Professor Dumbledore slowly opened the folded parchment, "As I call your names, please stand up so you can find your teammates. Once you have gathered your team, I must insist that you sit together and introduce yourselves outside of the Great Hall. The first names are… Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones and…"

All eyes went to the Slytherin table as they waited for the last name to be called, assuming the Goblet was going to choose one student from each house as it already had one from each other House. Hermione seemed worried as her eyes gazed over each Slytherin's face, I assumed she was singling out in her mind the students that she hoped weren't picked to be on her team.

"Adelaide Murton!" The Headmaster called out finally, a sigh of relief came from Hermione, but I couldn't bring myself to find out why as the sight that I was witnessing was far more interesting.

I watched as, much to my surprise, Pansy seemed to be supporting the young girl that was shakily rising from her chair. The blond looked sickly pale as she gripped the black-haired girls' hand, listening to whatever Pansy was whispering to her. I jabbed Hermione in the side to make sure she was witnessing the same thing I was, to make sure I wasn't having some weird dream and, by the look on the brunette's face, it was real.

A warming sensation seemed to fill me as I watched the sincere interaction between the two girls. It was a sensation that was short lived however as Pansy quickly glared in every direction seemingly at once as Adelaide walked towards the large double doors of the Great Hall.

"Good luck, Hermione," I spoke softly, worried for her safety after the scene that just played out between Adelaide and Pansy. Hermione smiled softly before joining her teammates at the double doors of the Great Hall, introducing herself as they disappeared through the doors.

I was only half listening from that point on, the names that were being called out merely floating in one ear then out the other. I didn't care who my teammates were going to be; I just hoped I got grouped with people that didn't much care how the whole Competition played out.

"Ginny," I felt a tapping on my shoulder, and quickly turned to the side, Neville was watching me, worry set in his eyes.

"Yes?" I asked, confused as to what was going on.

"Ginny, your name was called," Harry said causing me to turn to him, and I noticed Ron had disappeared, along with half of the other Gryffindor's at the table.

"Ginevra Weasley, your teammates are waiting for you," Professor Dumbledore said from his podium. I glanced around the rest of the Great Hall and saw that everyone that was left was staring at me, some sniggering at my expense.

Embarrassedly, I stood up and turned to the large doors to the Great Hall, wondering just how I'd been able to sit there for so long without realizing anything that was going on around me. But those questions quickly stopped as I watched the retreating back of a dark-haired Slytherin girl. My eyes shot nervously to Neville's, and he solemnly nodded his head, answering my unasked question.

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes tightly before taking a deep, calming breath. I reopened my eyes slowly before starting in the direction of the exit, silently hoping that Pansy would sort of mellow a little considering we were going to be on a team together. But as I exited the Great Hall, I noticed that Pansy was towering over two other girls as she hissed at them.

"I am in charge; you got that?" Pansy asked with a growl, the two other girls nodded, fear evident in their eyes.

Pansy turned, a devilish smile spreading on her lips as she looked me up and down, "Hi _Ginevra_ ," Pansy walked up to me slowly. "Looks like we're going to be competing together," A shiver ran down my spine with the other girl standing over me. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun, don't you?"

Silently I nodded, cursing under my breath as the dark-haired girl backed up, laughing to herself as she waved us along after her.

"I'm Ginny," I spoke softly to the two other girls that were following along with me, "What's your names?"

"Hannah," The Hufflepuff girl said quickly, her voice strained as she glared at Pansy's back, joining the ranks of the many people that had done so before her.

The young Ravenclaw girl didn't answer, her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears and I could see in her face how hard she was trying not to let her tears fall. I rested a hand on the brunette girl's shoulder and tried to smile comfortingly at her as she looked up at me.

'It'll be okay,' I mouthed to her, garnering a slightly relieved look from the younger girl.

We walked in silence as we followed Pansy through the halls of Hogwarts, I watched the other teams staring at us as we passed by. Each one seemed to look worried for the three of us that trailed behind the black-haired girl. Quickly I straightened my back and forced myself to walk with purpose and confidence, hating the feeling that seemed to fill me with the way my peers were watching me.

Before long Pansy had led the three of us out of the Castle and onto a large, open field outside the school's walls, into the cold September air. The grass moved with the brisk wind that blew passed us and I quickly pulled my robes around myself more tightly to protect myself from the cold. I waited with my teammates as we waited for our self-appointed leader to speak to us.

I began to grow impatient as Pansy just stood before us in complete silence, and not being able to deal with the cold for so long I quickly decided to speak up, "Why the hell are we out here?" I snapped at the older girl.

"Yeah," Hannah agreed from beside me, her blonde hair billowing out around her in the wind, "It's freezing out here, if you were just going to stand there silently we could have done that inside."

Pansy stayed silent for a few moments longer before she turned around, a smirk on her face as she stared at the younger Ravenclaw girl, "Don't you have something to add?" She asked and the brunette beside me shook her head as she hid half of her body behind me.

"That's too bad," Pansy sneered, "If I'm going to win then I need bravery, but you will acquire it, or you will be left behind."

I gritted my teeth and glared at the older girl, "We leave no one behind," I growled.

Pansy simply grinned at my outburst, "Well someone's gotten brave since our last encounter, seems all you needed was a girl to protect, too bad you couldn't protect your little boyfriend."

A fire shot through my veins as the girl before me worked on my last nerve and I instantly went for my wand. I gripped it tightly, my knuckles turning white as I held it threateningly in Pansy's direction. The dark-haired girl tilted her head slightly her grin still firmly in place as she looked into my eyes, seemingly begging me to attack her.

I was happy to oblige as the pain and anger grew inside my stomach, filling me with wretched bile that felt like it was forcing its way up my throat. I quickly thought of the Vermiculus Jinx; it seemed only fitting, turning her into the worm that she was.

I threw my arm back with rage as I prepared to cast the spell, "Expelliarmus!" I felt as my wand was ripped from my hand and watched it fly away a good ten meters before landing in the frosty grass. I looked around to find the caster but found we were utterly alone outside, and of course we were, it was freezing cold day.

I turned back and was amazed to see a wooden wand being tucked back into Pansy's robes. I stared, astonished at how fast she must have moved to have been able to cast the Disarming Charm on me. The girl stood before me with a cocky smile on her face; her deep green eyes seemed to be screaming out how much better than me she was.

A soft tapping on my side brought my attention away from the older girl and to the Ravenclaw girl, she held my wand out to me. "Thank you," I said with a smile before turning back to the older girl.

"H-How did you do that?" Hannah asked her face scrunched in confusion and amazement.

"I just moved my hand," Pansy spoke down to the Hufflepuff, dismissing the question as nothing before walking towards us. I held my ground as she approached, mostly because I could feel the Ravenclaw girl moving behind me to hide. "Nice try Ginevra," Pansy patronized, her green eyes piercing my own, "Next time don't give your opponent time to react, you need to move faster, more efficiently, you all do if we have any chance of winning this thing."

"But I don't care about winning," Hannah spoke quietly, "Why do we need to win?"

I watched as, for the briefest of moments, Pansy's usual stony eyes flashed with a look of desperation, "Because I said so," She said, whipping her head around to look at Hannah, "Or did I not make myself clear outside of the Great Hall."

Pansy walked back to her spot a few meters away from the rest of us, "Now, training begins tomorrow, every team gets an hour with the Professor of their choice every week until the first Event. We'll need to book that time with the Professor's, of course, I'll book some time with Snape tomorrow morning and let you all know what time and on what day we'll be meeting him. Understood?" I nodded and hoped the other two girls did the same, "Good, we'll meet in the Great Hall for breakfast, from now on we eat together, spend breaks together and all of our free time will be used to better ourselves for the coming Event. No exceptions."

The older girl started to leave but stopped as she was passing us by, "I suggest you use this time to tell your friends that they'll be seeing less of you from now on," And with that Pansy disappeared into the Castle.

"What the hell was that!?" Hannah yelled, stamping her foot in anger, "Who does she think she is?"

"She is Pansy Parkinson," The Ravenclaw girl spoke for the first time since we left the Great Hall, "The sole heir of the Parkinson family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Six Families, the only pure wizards left in the world, or so they'd have you believe."

"Really? She's one of those Parkinson's?" The Hufflepuff asked, "Oh well," She said, hiding behind bravado now that Pansy was gone, "I don't care who her parents are, she's a bitch."

I hit Hannah softly on the shoulder and motioned towards the younger girl, hoping she got the message to watch her language around the child. The blonde rolled her eyes at me, but I was sure she got the message and complied with my wishes.

"Anyway, will you tell us your name now that you are speaking?" I asked the younger girl as I started back towards the school, not seeing a need to stay out in the cold.

"It's Emmaline Serrine…" The girl looked embarrassedly at the floor as she continued to speak, "I was a little… Afraid of Pansy earlier, sorry."

"There is no need to be sorry, you are not the first person to be afraid of her, and you won't be the last, trust me," I spoke to the young girl, recalling the various times that I had been afraid of the older Slytherin. I shook the memories away as a hand was placed firmly on my shoulder, I spun around and found Hannah looking at me very seriously.

"I think I have an idea… How about we just phone the Event in?" She asked hopefully, a wicked smile spreading on her lips. "We could humiliate Pansy in front of the whole school by deliberately letting our team lose. None of us want to win this thing. Anyway so it doesn't matter that we're going to lose, but she's a Slytherin, and everyone knows that she thinks she's the best. Having her lose will show her that she's not as good as she thinks she is."

I shook my head and glanced at the younger Ravenclaw, an angry look settling on her face, "We can't do that!" The child yelled, "We can't just stoop down to her level just because we are angry at her, just because she's been mean to everyone else. How will that make us any better than her?" The young girl asked rationally.

I racked my brain for a way to refute the girl's question but quickly came to a loss, she was right, of course, she was right. I looked at Hannah and saw that she had come to the same conclusion as myself and we let the whole thing drop as we parted ways.

As I walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room, I couldn't help but allow my mind to wonder about what Hannah had suggested. It wasn't the most Gryffindor like act, but maybe it was a good idea… Maybe we would be able to bring her down a little, to show her how lousy everyone she bullies feels once she has had her fun.

"Dammit what am I thinking?" I asked myself, how could I possibly still be thinking about doing this to Pansy. But even with that thought I couldn't bring myself to stop thinking about, couldn't get the satisfying image of a humiliated Pansy out of my mind and I hated it.

 _ **Pansy**_

 _Pansy,_

 _We have received word of the upcoming Competition and we are most displeased that you did not inform us of this yourself. Your father is livid that you did not tell us and ranted for close to an hour about the whole thing so thank you for that._

 _We, of course, shall be there for every event to watch you, to make sure you take this seriously, it is your first step to becoming worthy of the Parkinson name after all._

 _Do not let us down._

I flipped the page over, again and again, hoping more words would appear on the page but they never did. It wasn't the first time I had read this letter, but there had to be more to it, it couldn't just be that. My eyes filled with tears, much as they had for the three nights before this, I finally allowed the tears to fall as I ripped the letter up into pieces, throwing them to the ground.

"I'll show you," I whispered under my breath, rising from my desk I started to pace the aisles of the Library. "I'll win this damned competition and then… And then…" I quickly gathered my things and walked briskly towards the Slytherin Common Room, but stopped as a certain brunette came into view.

I started to glare at the girl but quickly softened as I noticed she was with her team members, "Hey Pansy," Adelaide said quietly, stopping to greet me with a smile.

"Hello Adelaide, I hope your teammates are treating you well?" I asked casting a look of warning at the retreating backs of the other girls.

"Yes they are, Luna has been especially nice, but all of them have welcomed me and been super kind," The blond enthused. She looked up at me curiously, reaching up she ran her thumb along my cheek, "You've been crying?"

I quickly shook my head, "No, no of course not," I said as I wiped my cheeks properly, but saw that she didn't believe me, "I'm fine, really I am," I urged.

The young Irish girl nodded but I knew she was not convinced, she had a good sense of when people were lying so before she could ask anything else, I waved goodbye and disappeared down the hall. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I repeated over and over again as I walked towards the Common Room, hoping that I'd be able to get there without further incident.

"Ah, Miss Parkinson, I've been looking for you," The dull voice of the head of Slytherin said from a few meters in front of me.

"Professor Snape, I was going to look for you tomorrow but I guess now is as good a time as any-" I shut my mouth as the Professor rose his hand.

"I know what you are going to ask and unfortunately I cannot help, the Heads of the houses have been elected to help with the whole Competition so we shall be far too busy." The Professor explained, "But I have made other arrangements and wanted you to be the first to reap the rewards. We were asked to bring in specialists to cover for us, so I have called upon an old… Acquaintance of mine, Alastor Moody."

I struggled to keep my composure at the mention of the Greatest current hunter of Dark Wizards, "Thank you, Professor," I said with a simple head nod, walking off as a small smile appeared on my face. _Just another perk of being part of the Sacred Twenty-Six Families_ , I thought happily.

"I'll leave you a letter in the Common Room with the time and day!" The Professor called behind me, annoyance clear in his voice. I waved back at him in answer as I continued forwards, no longer needing to converse with the man.

The good news was not enough to keep me in a good mood, however, and I quickly found myself in the girl's bathroom, standing under a hot stream of water. I held my eyes shut as I leaned on my hands against the wall. Allowing the water to cascade over my body as hot tears stung my eyes. Finally, I could be alone. Finally, I could let my feelings out. I fell to the floor and sat there crying, I was pathetic, not fit to be a Parkinson, not suited even to be a Pure-Blood witch and my pain overflowed in the shower.

With a clenched fist I struck at my arm repeatedly, trying to distract myself from my emotional turmoil but it didn't work, it never worked… I pulled my knees to my torso and buried my head between them, feeling as the member that should not exist touched the warm floor and started to cry even harder.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry Mother, I'm sorry Father."

With my eyes shut tight I envisioned the one thing that seemed to help, the one shining light in the darkness that was life, I envisioned the fiery red hair that I had become so accustomed to seeing. Those beautiful, large, bright brown eyes that pierced my soul every time I envisioned them, searching me out, searching the _real_ me out. The light dusting of freckles that gathered over her small nose. I moved my fingers to my lips as I envisioned her pink lips puckering and moving closer to mine.

"Shut up, that's so not true!"

I was shocked out of my fantasy by the outburst and quickly stood up, I grabbed my soap and started to finally clean myself, trying to ignore everything that I had just been fantasizing about. _What the hell was that?_ I asked myself; it wasn't the first time that the thought of the redhead had helped me to feel better. But that just then was something else entirely, something… different, but not something I didn't like.

I shut down the thought processes that were currently happening and focused solely on cleaning myself, ignoring the blush that had come to my cheeks. Once washed I left the showers and quickly found my way to my bed, questions about Ginevra still whirling in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to forget about her. I no longer had an appetite and forced myself to fall asleep, my thoughts focusing on Ginevera.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Ginny**_

I was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room with Hermione and Neville, the three of us were the early risers of the group, and we were seated by one of the many fireplaces, enjoying the warmth of the morning fire. We had been discussing the various members in our groups and luckily for the both of them their teammates didn't much care about winning the Competition.

They had just asked me how I was going with Pansy and I realized it was probably time I explained what was going to be happening over the coming months. "I don't know how to say this other than just to come out and say it; Pansy _really_ wants to win. She wants to win so we're going to be training every day during breaks and after classes have finished, so I won't be able to hang out with you guys for a little. And before you say anything it's not just because Pansy told me that that was what was going to happen, I came to the decision myself that I actually kind of want to try and win."

I was half lying, but I didn't want to share my actual reasoning for going along with Pansy's selfishness, mostly because I was ashamed by how I felt towards the older girl just last night. Then there was that desperate look, that look that had haunted my dreams the whole night and had me waking up in a cold sweat this morning.

Thankfully neither Neville nor Hermione questioned my motives and continued talking amongst themselves as I got lost in my thoughts. My mind was once again filled with the vision of a humiliated Pansy as she trudged, broken, off of a field, Hannah and I smirking from the sidelines as the rest of the school laughed at the defeated girl.

I shook my head and rose from my spot by the fire, "I'm going to head down to the Great Hall, get an early start to the day," I explained and left before they could stop me. As I walked down the revolving staircases, I felt tears prick my eyes, "What have I become?" I asked myself sadly. I couldn't understand why I felt such a strange satisfaction in fantasizing about a defeated and humiliated Pansy.

"Ginevra!" The familiar voice sent a shiver down my spine, and I turned around, the black-haired girl coming into my vision.

I gave a little nod to the older girl as I started thinking, "Uh, Pansy, why do you call me Ginevra now?" I asked, hoping that I could be civil with the girl since she is on my team.

The Slytherin stopped in her tracks, a blank look on her face for a few moments, "I just do," She said, with a sneer, "Anyway that doesn't. We have our time; we are to meet Alastor at One in the afternoon today, so we can head to him right before Lunch break ends. Professor Snape has already organized with the Headmaster and our Professors for us to be out of class for that hour." Pansy's news had confused me, and she had quickly realized as without me needing to ask Pansy started to explain. "Yes, I mean _that_ Alastor, the Heads of Houses have to help with the Competition so they each chose a 'specialist' or whatever. The point is we need to meet him at One, and we _cannot_ be late."

I ignored Pansy's condescending tone as we walked towards the Great Hall, "Why are you awake so early?" I asked, as over the past few years I couldn't help but notice the girl always seemed to arrive with the last few stragglers and she always looked the same, like she had just crawled out of bed after being in a coma for three years.

The Slytherin was silent for a few moments before she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the wall. My heart started pounding in fear as Pansy's menacing face came within centimeters of my own, her warm breath tickling my skin. My eyes were locked on the emerald orbs in front of me as I began to imagine Pansy moving forwards those last few centimeters, her lips connecting with my own. My heart now beating intensely for an entirely different reason as the image continued to play in my mind over and over again.

"That's none of your business," Pansy finally said as she backed away, a contrite look on her face, "I'm sorry for… I shouldn't be attacking my teammates like that."

"Ohh… No… No that's, well it's not really okay but it… Is?" I was confused; my mind was in a jumble as I got over the shock of what my imagination had shown me. I wasn't sure what had actually happened as my memory became hazy, the only thing that seemed to stick being the image of Pansy's face directly in front of mine. Our lips connected in a chaste kiss that for some reason set my whole body on fire.

"I'm just going to..." I nodded my head towards the Great Hall before running off, leaving an understandably confused Pansy behind.

I entered the almost empty Great Hall and saw that Hannah was sitting at the table that was usually the table for the Gryffindors. She sat alone with just a glass of untouched milk in front of her; she appeared to be rooted in thought as she sat there. I sat down across from her but she didn't seem to notice, and I found myself staring at her in no time at all.

I stared mostly at her lips and imagined myself kissing the other girl; I imagined her hands slipping around my waist and pulling my body towards her so it was flush with her own. The same sensation that I had with Pansy quickly began to overcome rational thought and, not knowing what else to do, I pinched my leg to focus my mind elsewhere before I lost myself in the fantasy. I could feel that I was blushing profusely and quickly buried my head in my folded arms, hiding my face as I calmed down, changing my pinch spot to my arm as I did so.

"Good Morning Hannah," I heard Pansy's voice as someone sat next to me.

 _No don't sit there,_ I thought hoping to control the girl somehow, I cursed as I felt the warmth of another person's leg pressed against my own and it took all of my concentration to keep my mind clear.

"Morning," was Hannah's response, "Oh, Ginny, when did you get there?"

I lifted my head to look the girl in the eye, "Just before Pansy, you seemed to be thinking about something, so I didn't say anything," I replied, fighting the blush that threatened to envelop my face.

"Are you okay? You sound a little on edge," The blond had a clear look of worry in her eyes.

"I'm fine," I said with what I was hoping was a convincing smile, "Just a little tired is all, rough night of sleep."

"Looks like all we're waiting for is Emmaline then," Pansy changed the subject.

"How do you know her name? You weren't there when she spoke," Hannah asked with genuine curiosity.

"Are you an idiot?" Pansy asked seriously, "Everyone's name got called out when the teams were decided."

Hannah rolled her eyes at the Slytherin, "I'm sorry I didn't think of that," She spoke sarcastically, before looking Pansy straight in the eyes, "But there is no need to be a bitch."

"Well don't ask idiotic questions and I won't have to be," The two girls were now glaring intensely at each other, and I could just see that our team was going to fall to pieces before the whole Competition even got started.

"Onto another matter," I sputtered, as Emmaline joined us at the table, "We have a time to meet Alastor."

"Yes, that's right," Pansy said as she slowly stopped glaring at the Hufflepuff sitting across the table. She continued talking, but once again I was distracted as I felt Pansy move her leg slightly, sending an odd feeling of electricity through me.

I stood up abruptly at the feeling and made a move towards the door having forgotten about food altogether. I could vaguely hear my teammates asking me something but ignored them as I practically ran out of the Great Hall. Running through the Halls I tried to push everything from my mind as I felt my body heating up but to no avail. I stopped running and leaned against a random wall, my eyes closed and breathing heavy as I tried to cool myself down by fanning myself with my hands.

"Ginny," I could hear someone's voice through my haze but ignored them as more images started to flood my mind. I grabbed my head between my hands as I sunk to the floor, "Ginny?" The voice spoke again, this time sounding worried as I started to rock back and forth. But it was too much, and my mind continually barraged me with images filled with Pansy.

"Why her?" I asked out loud.

"Who?" The voice asked as someone's hand rested against my back.

I rose my head and found myself looking into Harry's green eyes; his dark brown hair draped over his forehead as it usually did. Without thinking I lunged forwards, pressing my lips against the boy's, startling him enough for him to jump backward in shock. I pulled back myself and pressed my fingers to my lips.

"Nothing…" I spoke softly

"Nothing?" He asked still in shock over the kiss.

"Yeah…" I looked back up at the boy, stood up and smiled awkwardly at him, "I felt… Nothing?" I asked, still kind of confused by what it all meant.

Harry scoffed, "Oh, well thank you _very_ much for that," He said in a huff.

"No, no that's not what I meant… Okay, it is but, I'm sorry… For the whole kiss thing, can we forget about it?"

Harry still looked kind of embarrassed, but he nodded anyway, "But are you okay? It looked like you were kind of, losing it, you know, until the… Thing."

I chuckled sheepishly, grabbing my arm in embarrassment, "Yeah, I'm fine now," I was, of course, lying through my teeth. I had just come to a rather shocking revelation, something I definitely didn't expect to happen, but I guess it did explain quite a lot… I am gay.

 _ **Pansy**_

Pacing outside the Great Hall I continued to mutter under my breath, it was nearing the end of the Lunch break, and Ginny still hadn't shown up yet. Even after I told her explicitly that we couldn't be late for Alastor, she was nowhere to be seen. I'd sent the girls that followed me around to find her, but they hadn't had any luck and quickly took off after I started cursing them out.

"Pansy, we should probably get going," I whipped around and glared at my young Ravenclaw teammate, watching as she recoiled immediately.

"No. Ginevra needs to be here," I spoke with finality, we were a team, and I would make Ginevra realize that one way or another. Even if that meant that none of us get any practice and I have to carry our team through the Competition.

"I'm going," Hannah huffed, I whipped my wand out threateningly, delighting as the girl turned pale under my gaze.

But before anything could happen, I heard loud footsteps approaching from behind the girl I was threatening with my wand. I looked passed Hannah and saw Ginevra running towards us, a panicked look set on her face as she jumped between Hannah and myself.

"You're becoming quite the brave one, aren't you?" I asked, fixing the red-head with a glare as I sheathed my wand. The girl just continued to glare at me, "Whatever," I said with a shrug, "Onto serious business, where the hell have you been? We were supposed to meet for every break to train!" I yelled letting my anger slip.

"I had things to take care of," I waited expectantly for further explanation, but with none forthcoming, I turned on my heel and waved for the trio to follow me.

The walk to the outside field was quick and silent, at least I was silent, the girls behind me on the other hand just continued to whine about me, thinking I couldn't hear them. I smiled to myself, but all the while I could feel a slight pang in my chest, a sting that I had successfully ignored for the last fifteen years of my life. I forced the pain away, instead choosing to focus on the look on Hannah's face when my wand was pointed directly at her, her fear lifted my spirits, and before I knew it, we were standing in a large open field, a man standing before us.

"Alastor Moody?" I asked.

The slightly portly man turned around and sneered at me, "Who the hell else would I be?" He asked as he hobbled over towards us, his fake eye staring at each one of us for mere moments before moving to the next. "I'm only here because I have great respect for Albus and Snape, I don't give two shits about any of you students so do as I say and no one will get hurt. I assume you all know basic defensive Charms, so we shall go on to the more advanced spells. I can see that you have a younger girl amongst you as well so if she needs help I expect you three to help her if she needs it."

"Alastor, if I may, might you teach us some Dark Magic? I mean you are-"

"No," The older wizard cut me off.

I looked at the man, thoroughly confused, no one of importance ever denied one of my requests, "But-" I started but was cut off once again.

"I said no, and before you bring up some bull about your family let me just say that I don't care if your father was the fucking Minister of Magic. I was brought in by your Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, and that is exactly what I shall teach you. Now raise your bloody wands and prepare to cast the Defense Charm."

I rolled my eyes as my anger bubbled over, "We all know the Defense charm, I thought you were going to teach us more advanced skills." I spoke even though I knew I was alone against this man, my teammates were happy to take direction from Alastor, but if I wanted to win, I needed more than the defensive charm.

"You listen here girl," Alastor spoke gruffly as he grabbed my robes in a fierce grip, "One more outburst and I'll turn you into a bloody rat and leave you with your friends. You got that?"

Begrudgingly I nodded, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, no one had been so harsh on me since the last time I was at home with my father. I fought back the tears that threatened to spill as the man walked a few paces away, never knowing the emotional storm he had conjured in my mind.

I listened as much as I could to the man's words, but his earlier actions had utterly terrified me, and as I went over it in my mind, all I could see was my father. We parted ways with the Auror soon after, and as my teammates walked towards the Castle, I simply dropped to the floor and closed my eyes.

"What's wrong with her?" I heard Emmaline's voice as my mind took over.

" _What the hell was that!?" My father roared as he stomped towards me, I had collapsed on the floor, my breathing labored as I gripped my wand in my hand. I could feel the cold air sting as it blew against the various cuts and bruises over my body._

 _My father's hand gripped my collar, and he ripped me to my feet, "That is not the way I taught you! If you don't want to listen, then I will be forced to make you!" He said as he threw me to the floor. "I don't know why I even bother; you're not good for anything…" His words turned to a mumble as he paced in front of me._

 _I sat there for a few moments, trying to regain my breath while my father walked back and forth before me, his eyes never once leaving my own. With my breathing under control, I tried to speak but was silenced as my father cast the Langlock Jinx on me._

" _You do not deserve to speak, now get to your feet and leave your wand where you are," I did as my father commanded. "Good," My father raised his wand and without him telling me I knew what was expected of me. I jumped to the side as my father cast a curse at me, over and over again I jumped, dove and ducked, dodging curse after curse, all the while my lungs screaming for a break until I could take no more._

 _With a scream I collapsed as a searing pain spread across my upper arm, my shirt quickly stained with my own blood, and I grimaced as I pressed my hand against the open wound. Hot tears slipped from my eyes as my father calmly walked towards me, holding my wand between two fingers._

 _He knelt beside me and rested his hand on my shoulder, pride shining through his usual dark eyes. I smiled back up the man as he cast a spell on my arm to lessen the pain. "Very good child, you almost lasted till your ten-minute goal."_

 _I grinned up my father, "I will get their soon father, I will make you proud!" I yelled excitedly._

" _I know you will my child, you are my sole heir, after all, it is your duty to make me proud," I hugged my father happily._

" _I will daddy," I said, indulging in the rare moment of warmth the man was showing me._

I awoke with a start, shooting up from the bed I was in I looked around, shocked to find myself in the infirmary. But beyond that I was more shocked to see a head of brown hair resting against my bed, I moved the hair to the side and saw that it was Emmaline that was sitting with me. I looked around and watched as Madam Pomfrey hurried towards me, a worried expression on her face.

"Don't worry," I spoke quietly, not wanting to wake the Ravenclaw girl, "It was just another 'episode.'"

"'Don't worry' she says, 'Just another episode,' you listen here Pansy, this," The woman said as she pointed to my head, "Is very fragile, especially for someone in your situation. What happened?" The Nurse demanded.

I sighed as I gripped the sheet in my hands, "I got a letter from my mother," I quickly motioned for the Nurse to be quiet, "I know, I should have told someone, but I thought I could handle it… They are coming to the Competition," I continued. "Said they were disappointed that I hadn't told them about the Competition… Like it was up to me." I felt hot tears prick at the back of my eyes, but I held them back.

"And then Alastor grabbed my robes… Much like father used too… In-In the letter they said they were going to be at the Competition… Is that true?" I asked worriedly.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "No, they are still imprisoned in Azkaban."

"They can't be if they were then… then how could they have sent me that letter?" Madam Pomfrey was silent for too long, so I quickly lay back down and closed my eyes, "Don't worry about it, I'm okay now." I said as I reached out a placed my hand under Emmaline's taking comfort from the warmth that I could feel from the girl.

"I'm sorry…" Madam Pomfrey said as she poured the putrid potion into my waiting mouth. I drifted off into a dreamless sleep, hoping for a better tomorrow.

 _ **A.N.**_ Chapter was a bit short this time, but we had some pretty heavy stuff for both the girls so I didn't want to force the chapter up to my usual of around 4k words.

Also, If you are confused by Pansy and her parents and everything that is going on, just wait a little while, it will be explained, just later.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N** I'm sorry for the long wait, took me far too long to get this out, and there is no excuse for that, so I'm sorry.

 _ **Ginny**_

It had been weeks since Pansy had been admitted to the Infirmary after collapsing and seeming to go into a kind of trance, but she hadn't said a word about what was going on. I didn't expect her to tell us everything, but she had been utterly silent about the whole thing, not even Emmaline was saying anything, even after spending the night by Pansy's side.

Pansy was, however, back to her old self, and had us training day in and day out until it finally came to the day before the first Event. I knew my friends were getting frustrated over the fact that they barely saw me anymore and the various cuts and bruises that were continually appearing on my skin was getting them nervous. I kept telling them not to worry about it, but I could feel that something was brewing, could see in their eyes that they weren't going to let it slide for much longer. I just hoped that the way my team performed was enough to deter them from doing anything too rash.

Everyone was a jumble of nerves and excitement, and it could be felt especially during breakfast as almost everyone had risen as early as I usually did. Some sat silently poking at their food rather than eating while others talked and laughed loudly as they slowly ate. Hiding their nerves, trying to show that they were confident and knew they were going to win. Then there were the few teams who just got on as usual, like Hermione's team, who were acting normally because they just didn't much care for winning.

I was sitting with what had become my usual group, Hannah and Emmaline were chatting animatedly, Emma having opened up much more in the last few days. I was sat next to Pansy again, having calmed down considerably after my realization the day that Pansy had collapsed. I still occasionally had flashes of doing various things with other girls, but I just assumed that was normal for someone my age, especially after hearing how much Ron and Harry talked about girls. They honestly bordered on the line of creepy sometimes, especially when they didn't think anyone could hear them.

I looked over at Pansy and could see that the girl was troubled, of what, I wasn't sure, but it was something big, as she noticed me blatantly staring at her and didn't so much as scowl at me. I thought maybe she'd share if I'd ask, and as I looked at Pansy, her brown eyes staring back at me, I quickly worked up the courage.

Leaning in close so no one could hear us I started to whisper, "Are you okay? You seem a little… Not yourself."

"You mean I'm not acting like a bitch, right?" The dark-haired girl snarled, "Just leave me alone," She said before turning back to the still full plate of toast and scrambled eggs.

I was taken aback by Pansy's tone, not from the bite but from the subtle shaking that could have easily been me mishearing, but I didn't believe that to be the case. I found myself wanting to help Pansy, a very stark difference to how I felt about the girl when we first became team members, but Pansy still just thought of me as someone she could bully.

I huffed in annoyance at the girl and angrily got to my feet, I fixed the girl with a glare, "I'm done, there's no point in sitting here day in and day out with you when all we do is eat. I'm going to sit with my friends." I spat at the older girl.

Pansy stood slowly, brushing her robes down as she rose from her seat, I stared her down as she looked as if she wanted to say something. But I already knew what it was going to be, some annoying, mean taunt meant to goad me into a fight, but I was finally fed up enough that I didn't allow her to speak.

"No! You don't get to talk to me anymore, I've had it up to here with your bullshit, and I am not doing it anymore! Win the bloody Competition by yourself, I'm out."

With my piece said I swiftly left the Great Hall, leaving a stunned, murmuring crowd of students behind as I strutted through the double doors with my head held high. Hiding my nerves behind bravado until I knew I was no longer in sight of anyone else before breaking into a sprint. I just had to get out of there, I knew how close I was to truly erupting and starting a fight that there was just no way that I would have been able to win.

I sighed as I leaned against a wall, breathing deeply as I tried to recover my breath after my run, looking around I realized that I had somehow run to the Library. I gladly walked into the large room, knowing that very few students, if any, would be inside at this time of day. I nodded softly to Madam Pince with a Smile as I walked passed, unsurprisingly she didn't even acknowledge my presence as she instead busied herself with fawning over the many books that were piled on her desk.

Absentmindedly I walked through the massive stacks of self-organizing books, not really looking for anything. Just happy that I could be alone for a time before I needed to go out and face my peers, friends and worst of all, my Pansy. I needed to find a way to apologize while still letting her know that we couldn't keep on like this. The first Challenge was tomorrow after all, and we couldn't be at each other's while trying to beat the other teams.

I shook my head as I pulled an old, heavily worn and weathered book from the bookshelf, without even reading the title I took the book and sat at an empty table, of which I had ample choice, and opened it to a random page. Without reading the words I allowed my eyes to skim along the lines of text, my eyesight beginning to blur as I was overcome with a sense of dread, I didn't want to go to class, didn't want to see anyone.

I felt embarrassed and ashamed over how I'd reacted and shook my head as I began muttering to myself, "I can't believe I just did that… How the hell does she do it?" I asked myself. "How does she treat everyone like shit and not feel this way all the time?"

"She can't help it," I almost jump out of my skin as the voice echoes through my mind.

"P-Professor! You scared me half to death," I complained as I sat up in my chair gasping.

Professor Dumbledore smiled sorrowfully at me before he continued speaking, his tone solemn, "Pansy has had a… Rough time of it in the past. Tell me, what do you know of her family?"

I opened my mouth to speak before I realized, I knew nothing of her family, hadn't heard any rumors about them or anything, "Nothing. Aside from the fact that her family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

Dumbledore sighed, I'm sure he knew that that was what my answer was going to be but he still seemed upset about it, "I need you to know, you and Pansy being paired together was no coincidence. I don't know why you are together so don't ask, but the charms on the goblet were designed to pair up people that would be good together." The Headmaster shook his head as he started to walk away, stopping short he turned back to me, "Just… Don't let this chance slip through your fingers."

"Wait Professor I-" But it was too late, the old man had already disappeared, "Chance?" I asked myself, confused by the Professors wording.

 _ **Pansy**_

I was pacing quickly in my dorm as I cursed myself, I should've been quicker, maybe even just Cursed her right there. "No, NO!" I yelled cursing myself for thinking it, I shook my head dangerously as I scratched at my face, "She's my teammate… I shouldn't… But she-" I didn't allow the words to leave my mouth. I glared at the reflection in the mirror before me, "I'm not you," I whispered, as I gripped my wand tightly in one hand, "I'M NOT YOU!" I screamed flicking my wand, the mirror smashed into pieces, and I smiled as they spilled onto the floor.

"I'm not you…" I repeated as I walked over the pieces of glass, feeling as the shards embedded into my feet.

"PANSY!" I heard someone yell from the door to my dorm, raising my wand I looked over at the door and saw a worried look set in Adelaide's features. "What are you doing?" She asked as she rushed inside.

I smiled at the younger girl, "Nothing," I stated as she grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me away from the glass covered floor.

"It's not nothing, your bleeding!" The girl shrieked as she pointed to the bloody footprints that I had left on the carpet.

"It's nothing Adelaide, just a few cuts."

"A few cuts that you put into yourself intentionally," Professor Snape's dull voice filled my ears from the hallway. The usually stern man held a worried look on his face as he shooed away a group of gathered Slytherin's.

"I'm fine," I spat at the man, "Nothing's wrong with me!" I yelled as I shook my hand free from Adelaide's grip.

"I never said something was wrong with you," Snape tried to defend himself but I could see through him.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" I roared at the man, "I can see it in your face. But luckily for me, I know exactly where all this crap is coming from." I huffed before trying to storm away from the man.

"Where is it coming from then?" The Professor challenged me as he caught me in a levitation charm, effectively stopping me from getting away.

I growled as I pulled out my wand which was quickly blasted away by the much more experienced Wizard. I watched as my wand flew away from me and into the waiting hands of Adelaide who stood off to the side, tears now running down her cheeks,I felt my heart twist a little inside at the sight, but the pain was quickly driven out by anger.

"I'm waiting," Snape said as crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

"You… All of you are just trying to get into my good graces because of who my family is, all of you want to get close to me because of the status that I can give you!" I yelled.

The Professor seemed dumbfounded as he looked at me with sheer disbelief in his eyes, "You think people are just getting close to you… Because of your blood status?" The Professor asked.

"YES! That's all you care about, that's all any of you care about!" The rest of the Slytherin's had finally regathered after being shooed away by the Professor earlier and standing at the front were my so-called friends, and I could see on their faces the pain and disbelief that rocked through them.

They stood silently as Snape quickly started yelling, but he didn't address me, "ELVES!" He roared, summoning a good twenty House Elves, "Search Miss Parkinson's room immediately."

"Yes, Sir," One of the many House Elves said in a scratchy voice, "What should we be looking for, Sir?"

"Anything with the stench of a curse, clearly that letter wasn't all that had been sent," Snape sneered causing the Elves to quickly scurry into my room. The Professor then turned my floating body around and flew me out of the Slytherin dorms. I stayed silent as I was carried through the halls, slowly becoming less irritated by the situation, I could hear the footsteps of multiple people behind me, but none of them spoke a word, merely following behind the Professor.

Before long I found myself floating in front of the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey had been roused and was standing by the door with a worried look on her face. "What has happened Professor?"

"The Curse is back," I looked at the Professor bewildered by what he had just said.

"What curse?" I asked but was ignored by the two Professor's as a murmur came from the group of students behind me.

"I thought we got rid of -"

"Both of you hush," Professor McGonagall interrupted as she too made an appearance, "You have an audience if you didn't realize, I'm not sure if Miss Parkinson wants her friends to hear this."

"They're not my friends," I mumbled under my breath.

With the flick of her wrist, Professor McGonagall silenced me with Langlock jinx before sending the group of students behind me away.

"Minerva they are Pansy's friends, they just wanted to make sure she was alright, I'm sure of it," Professor Snape said softly, but Professor McGonagall ignored the man. She walked through the doors to the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape followed behind her which in turn had me going inside against my will.

 _ **Ginny**_

I was sitting at the large table eating Breakfast with Emma and Hannah, after my outburst yesterday and my not being able to work up the courage to leave the Library all day to the point that I had actually slept _in_ the Library, I thought maybe I could apologize to her at Breakfast. But as I sat here waiting, I realized that there was a peculiar energy amongst a lot of the Slytherin girls. Looking around the room I quickly saw that every other student was acting normally, some nervous, others excited and the rest somewhere in between. And if all of that wasn't strange enough, every single Professor was sitting at the Professor's table, and that almost never happened at breakfast.

"Hey did you hear?" Hannah asked me over the table in a hushed tone, "Pansy went crazy and was dragged out of the Slytherin dorm room last night." I shook my head at the blond girl. Dumbfounded as I listened to her, "Yeah, not only that but the House Elves were in her room for hours searching for something, but nobody knows what it was." There was a long pause as a worried look settled on the girl's face, "I hope she's okay…"

I nodded, feeling the same, Pansy was a nightmare to deal with at times, but I couldn't help feeling worried for the older girl. Pushing my for ever-changing feelings aside I turned my head towards the Great Double doors, hoping that the girl in question would enter and shed some light on what had transpired. But before she came, if she was even going to, Professor Dumbledore called for our attention.

"I am sure by now many of you must have heard some rumor or another about the young miss Parkinson. I would kindly ask for you to not come up with your own stories about what may have transpired, Miss Parkinson will tell you herself if she wishes for you to know. However, I can tell you this, she will still be participating in the First Challenge today. Speaking of which, I will now welcome Ludo back to the podium to explain what the First Challenge will entail."

The Headmaster before gesturing to the approaching man with a warm smile, Mr. Bagman graciously accepted the podium before turning to address us. "First of all, I am glad that Miss Parkinson is still able to take part in the Competition, and I look forward to watching all of you try your hardest to make this a success. Secondly, the ministry has sent delegates and Aurors to observe and to be used as extra security for the event. Also, a young reporter, who I'm sure you've all heard of, will be conducting interviews and writing an overview of the Competition for the Daily Prophet, please help me in welcoming Miss Rita Skeeter."

A round of applause went out for the woman, I joined in with my fellow students even though it was clear she was only here to provide some good press for the Ministries newest work. The woman had worked her way up to where she was by pandering to the Ministry after all, and putting the best spin that she could on anything that went wrong within in the Ministry. Rita smiled and waved happily at the applauding students, eating up the attention like she was a starved rat that had found its way into a pantry.

"Now, onto the Challenge itself, The first Challenge is straightforward and will cut the number of teams competing in half, from two-hundred and forty-six to one-hundred and twenty-three. Put simply, each team will need to duel another team, to win the duel you will either need to disarm each of your opponents or make it so none of them can continue fighting anymore."

"For safety reasons each match will have two Auror referee's who are authorized to intervene if _they_ deem the Duel is getting out of hand and will call the winners of each duel as it finishes. Of course, we will not be able to hold every duel today as we have limited time, but over the coming days each team will receive a notice on whether or not you will be participating."

As he finished speaking a small piece of parchment appeared before Hannah, Emma and myself, I picked up the paper and became a little frustrated as to what it said. Our team was going to be fighting today, I looked towards my teammates frustratedly, "What the hell? We don't have a full team." I complained.

As if she had heard me Pansy's head appeared in between the double doors to the Great Hall, a frown set deeply on her features as she moved to sit beside me. "Sorry I'm late," She spoke quickly, "What did I miss." She spoke softly, seeming to be trying to hide pain behind her voice.

"Nothing much, except for the fact that we are fighting today," I said, not bringing up the pain that I could see and hear that Pansy was in, afraid she'd attack me again.

"Okay, that sounds good," She spoke softly once again, making me wonder just what had happened to her last night. But still, I ignored the pain that I could hear, not wanting to set the girl off.

Hannah on the other hand quickly spoke up, "Pansy… Please don't get angry with me but are you okay? You sound a little…"

I watched as Pansy bit back whatever spiteful comment was on the tip of her tongue, "Don't worry about me," She said, looking pointedly at each of us, "I'm fine, everything is fine… Now." I had to hold myself back as I almost instinctively asked what she meant when she said 'Now' but to my surprise Emma spoke up this time, unperturbed by what had happened with previous attempts.

"What do you mean now? Please Pansy, tell us what happened, we're your teammates and after all, can't we just get along?" Emma asked sincerely.

Pansy sighed as she looked between the two pleading girls, "Alright, I'll tell you, but later when we're alone." I frowned as the girl spoke, quickly becoming irritated with the fact that whenever I tried to be friendly with her, she either ignored or attacked me.

"Fine then be friendly with them," I grumbled before standing and leaving the Great Hall, deciding against eating breakfast for the second day in a row.

I'd barely made it two steps out of the Great Hall before I heard Pansy calling after me, "Ginny! Wait up!" I turned quickly at the sound of the Slytherin's voice, disguising my own pain behind a mask of stone as I glared at the girl.

"What?" I asked bluntly.

Stopping just in front of me, Pansy ran a nervous hand through her hair, "I just, I need to speak with you… Could we maybe go somewhere? I asked the others to meet us by the Quidditch pitch for the Duel."

I fought back a blush as the usually very annoying Slytherin was for some reason acting all shy and abashed, and I couldn't help but find it extremely cute. I motioned for the girl to lead the way, unable to trust my voice as the Slytherin had me in a bit of a mess.

Pansy led me to a quiet and discrete corner of the Coble-stone Courtyard, the short walk unfortunately not nearly enough for me to calm down but at least she was the one that wanted to talk. I sat and waited patiently as Pansy seemed to be gathering herself, in the silence I couldn't keep myself from looking closely at the brunette's face. From her small nose to her dark brown eyes and hair and even the slight dimple in her chin seemed to entrance me.

"Firstly, I wanted to apologize," I was shocked out of my starring as Pansy started to speak, she was looking nervously at her wrenching hands, confusing me even more than the fact that she had just apologized. "I… I wasn't really myself, ever since the new year started… Or maybe I was more myself than I had been in a while, I'm not really sure which it is."

I looked at the girl, utterly bewildered by what she was saying, "What are you talking about?" I asked as she still wasn't looking at me and wouldn't be able to see the question written across my face.

Pansy sighed and scratched the back of her head, "On the first day of the school year I received a letter from my parents. Which was impossible because they are in Azkaban, but I went against my better judgment and read the letter anyway." I looked at the girl in surprise as I wondered just why she was suddenly so forthcoming, why wasn't she just berating me like she usually did.

"To cut a long story short the letter wasn't actually from my parents and to top it off it came with a curse, a curse that brought out a specific side of me and turned it even uglier. I'm sure you can guess which side of me that was. It also contributed to when I fainted almost a month back, but I wasn't told about that at the time. But apparently, the letter wasn't the only thing that was cursed which is why with its destruction I was still acting out much worse than usual."

I nodded as I turned what she had just divulged to me over in my mind, "If it wasn't from your parents then who sent the letter?"

Pansy shook her head, "That's the thing, I don't know, and neither do the Professor's, I can make guesses, but I've made plenty of enemies over the years. Not to mention the enemies of my parents who would love to get at them through me."

I could hear the pain in the Slytherin's voice as she mentioned her parents and watched as she withdrew into herself even more as she struggled with the topic. I reached out with a shaking, tentative hand to the girl, afraid she'd lash out again if the effects of the curse hadn't entirely worn off yet, and placed it on her wrenching hands, effectively halting their movement.

I smiled what I hoped was a comforting smile as Pansy looked up at me questioningly, "It's okay Pansy, you don't need to say anything more and… I forgive you. I mean, how can I not when you were acting under the influence of a curse." I blushed as I fought furiously against a comment that seemed to just need to come out. I bit my tongue in one last futile attempt to keep it inside, but before long my mouth was moving as if I was no longer in control of it, "And when you're acting this cute how can I not forgive you?"

Immediately my face turned beet red as I jumped to my feet, "Sorry!" I yelled before running off towards the Quidditch pitch, "I'll see you down there!" I said as I left a blushing and bewildered Pansy behind.

"Crap, crap, crap, why did you say it? Why did you have to say it?" I asked myself as I ran towards the Great Lake, I knew I needed to get to the Quidditch pitch sooner rather than later, but I couldn't face Pansy right after a comment like that, I had been far too obvious.

Panting as I leaned against a tree, I enjoyed the sight before me, drinking in the image of the sunlight as it danced against the small rippling waves of the Great Lake. I smiled as I watched a hunting bird swoop down towards the shimmering water of the Great Lake. It scooped an unassuming fish into its mouth with ease before flying back towards the Forbidden Forrest.

"Wow…" I whispered as I simply watched the scenery and waited for the right time to head towards the Quidditch pitch.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Pansy**_

Sitting in the Quidditch team waiting rooms I held my head in my hands, the light lingering smell of sweat helping to distract me from the pounding in my chest. I glanced at Ginny from beneath my hands, wondering just what was going on with her, why she'd acted so weirdly earlier, and why it had such an effect on me. I'd been able to ignore my own feelings for the girl for the better part of two years now, but out of the blue, she's just smashed her way through my barriers.

"Hey Pansy," I jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice, "Woah, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine what's up?" I asked as my face flushed with embarrassment.

"I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I was just trying to mess around a little," Ginny said, her voice a little shaky.

"I see…" I deflated as I listened to the girl speaks, mentally cursing myself for raising my hopes even a little bit.

"Yeah, I just wanted to explain, you know, I just wanted to get a little payback, but then I realized it might not have been such a good idea after the whole curse thing, so I'm sorry, I just wasn't thinking."

"No, no, it's fine," I spoke quickly as pain flared in my chest, "I understand… I guess."

Ginny stayed silent after that, the two of us sitting in awkward silence as we listened to the roar from the crowd above as other teams walked out and dueled each other. Emmaline and Hannah, having overheard our conversation, sat awkwardly glancing between the two of us and each other, no one really knowing what to say, or even if we wanted to say anything. Deep down I knew that I wanted to speak, could feel something bubbling deep in my chest, but it wouldn't come out, couldn't come out.

I put my head back in my hands and closed my eyes, I listened to the beating in my chest, focused on nothing but my own breathing as I successfully drowned out the sounds of cheering. I needed to prepare, needed to calm myself down, to erase the feeling of longing that continued to burn deep in my stomach.

A warm hand was placed on my shoulder, and without thinking I moved towards the owner of the hand, enjoying the comfort as my shoulders were wrapped in a warm embrace. In my mind I could see clearly who it was, the only person that had been sitting next to me was Ginevra, I buried my face into the crook of the girl's shoulder and sighed in contentment as I allowed myself to get lost in the feeling of the redheaded girl.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Hey, we may not have been getting on, but you were clearly in need of some comfort," I almost jumped at the sound of the girl's voice. Slowly I opened my eyes and saw that the hair in front of me was not red but blond, looking to the left I saw Ginny leaning against a pillar and looking towards the doors that lead to the Quidditch pitch. I felt as a loneliness crept over me as I stared hopelessly at the redheads back, wishing that it was her that was next to me right now.

"You wanted me to be her, didn't you?" Hannah asked, her voice just barely registering in my ear.

I shook my head, quickly dispersing the feeling of longing and loneliness as I put an arm around Hannah's waist. "I'm happy with you," I forced a smile before rising to my feet.

"Would the next contestants please make your way to the field, Ginevra Weasley," I tuned the announcer out as I heard the first name of my group and quickly followed after Ginevra, Hannah and Emmaline walking along beside me.

We quickly came upon two Aurors just before the grass to the Quidditch pitch, "Time to put your game faces on girls," One of the men yelled over the roar of the crowd, "Things are about to get real."

I huffed in annoyance, they didn't know the meaning of the word, I listened to the chanting of the crowd, not caring what they were saying, I simply listened to the excited noise. I smiled as I approached our designated dueling area, one of six that had been set up on the Quidditch pitch.

Professor Snape nodded at my team and me as we approached "Are you girls ready for this?"

"We're ready, let's get this thing going already," I said as I looked at the other dueling areas and watched as curses and various other spells were sent flying across them, each stray spell being dispelled by an invisible barrier.

Professor Snape motioned for my team to step into the large painted rectangle, as out opponents timidly approached their side of the field. Adhering to proper dueler's etiquette, each member of each team approached the middle of the field, rose their wands and then bowed to the other team before heading back to their respective sides.

"Now you all should have been notified about how this is going to work, but just in case I'll tell you again, you are to stay in your team's area of play if you step a foot out of bounds you will be disqualified from participating in the match further. The middle area is strictly a no crossing zone; this is a test of your magical ability, not a fist fight, any use of melee force will result in immediate disqualification for your entire team with possible Expulsion. Understood?"

"Yes sir," We spoke almost in unison.

"Good. Now… Begin!" The moment the Professor yelled the word I thrust my wand forwards, but it was in vain as our opponents all immediately took a step forwards and crossed the line into the 'no cross zone'. I heard Snape sigh and watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, "Well I guess it's over. Pansy, your team wins, now all of you get to the stands," the Professor growled in frustration.

Fearing the Professor's wrath our 'opponents' scurried quickly towards the stands like the cowards they were. I shook my head as I walked away from the pitch, "What was that?" Emmaline asked from beside me.

"They probably didn't want to be in the Competition and got out the first chance they had," Hannah said with a grin on her face, "Guess that means we won the first Competition, and we didn't even need to cast a spell."

"That wasn't a victory," I spat with frustration, "Not even trying… How can they be worthy of this school, let alone their Houses after pulling a stunt like that."

"They just didn't want to be a part of it," Hannah tried to defend them, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Even if you don't want to participate you still should, this is a school event, and it was designed to find the best Student, not only that, it was designed to allow us to interact with people we usually wouldn't, they could have at least had some fun with it!" I yelled as I quickened my pace to catch our 'opponents'.

"Hey!" I called out, but the students I was pursuing didn't seem to hear me as they disappeared into the crowd of other cheering students. I snarled as I scanned the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the Students but instead found my gaze being returned by Draco. A snide grin settled on his lips as our eyes met, he was close enough that I was able to clearly hear the words that left his mouth.

"How fortunate that your team was able to face one of the "immediate forfeiters" as they have been dubbed. Would've hated to watch you get destroyed before coming out of the first round of tests." The boy laughed along with a few others that had surrounded him as they continued to jeer my teammates and me.

I clenched my fists tightly in anger, as I spat the vile taste of bile from my mouth, "Maybe we should have at it then!" I yelled over the roar of the crowd as another team went down. Draco's grin faltered slightly at my words, but he quickly recovered, "I mean you said it yourself, my team didn't get to duel, and I have to wonder whether or not that is actually fair."

Draco approached me, his face coming within inches of my own, forcing me to take a step back, "My team isn't with me otherwise I'd take you up on that offer."

I smiled a cocky smile, "Fine then, no teams, just you and me," I was itching to relieve some tension and was digging for a duel.

"You're on," Draco spoke pointedly before taking to the Quidditch Pitch.

Professor Snape quickly intercepted the Blond as I walked leisurely towards them, "You all need to leave the Pitch this instant, you are holding up the duels!"

"No, we aren't," Draco spat back at the Professor, "You are, we would like to duel."

Professor Snape looked back at me then to the rest of my team who had followed Draco and myself back out to the Quidditch Pitch, "Just you against the four of them?"

"No, it's just going to be me and Pansy, no one else."

"I cannot permit that, even for you two. Now get back to the stands!"

"But sir."

"No buts, Malfoy" Professor Snape sneered, "You want to duel, you do it in your own time with a Professor to supervise, Now. Get. Out. Of. Here."

Draco cowered under Professor's scrutiny, attempting to hide his fear behind bravado, the blond shoved me as he walked past, snickering as I staggered to keep my feet in on the ground.

"You're lucky the curse was lifted Draco," I growled as I glared at his retreating back, "I'm heading back to the castle, I can't spend another second in that idiot's presence.

I left for the castle alone, I was surprised as I half expected someone to follow me as that had been happening more often lately, but I guessed the Duels were more interesting than me. And if I was being honest, I would have preferred to watch a few of them myself, but here I was heading back to the castle alone.

I headed straight to the Slytherin dorms and made my way into the girl's toilets, splashing some water on my face I stared into the mirror and the reflection staring back at me. "Don't do it," I told myself, "You've grown past that."

I repeated the words to myself over and over as I closed my eyes, but they didn't seep get through to my mind as my anger was quickly replaced with pain. Tears started to drip down my cheeks as I gave in to the pain and let allowed it to take over, suddenly missing the curse as it had helped me overcome times like this with anger. I opened my eyes and stared into the mirror again, watching as the tears gathered in my eyes and slowly dribbled over onto my cheeks before sliding down my chin and dripping into the basin beneath me.

I didn't know how long I spent in front of the mirror, didn't know how much time had passed before I collapsed onto the floor and started to sob in the toilet. Didn't know or care if anyone had even entered the toilets and found me or not as if they had, they clearly didn't care enough to help me before I drifted into a restless sleep.

 _ **Ginny**_

Sitting in the Great Hall, I couldn't keep myself from doing what I'd found myself doing a lot of recently as I watched and waited for Pansy to show herself. I knew things were strained between us, and since it was Sunday there wasn't a need for the girl to show her face for Breakfast as the only thing that was happening today was the first trip to Hogsmeade of the year. But for some reason, I wanted to see the girl, "For some reason?" I asked myself indignantly, as I knew exactly why I wanted to see the girl.

I waited in the Great Hall even as Harry, Ron and Hermione begged me to go to Hogsmeade with them, I just couldn't bring myself to go until I saw Pansy. My friends didn't understand, but how could they, I hadn't told them what my true feelings were, but even if I did, I got the feeling that they still wouldn't understand.

I felt my heart-beat pick up as a familiar head of hair rounded the corner, I smiled gleefully as I jumped to my feet and raced towards the pale girl. I didn't quite understand myself, but I couldn't seem to stop myself either as I ran towards the girl. She watched me curiously as I approached, she barely reacted as I grabbed her arm and didn't say a word as I led her out of the castle.

Once out of sight and earshot of the students that hadn't yet left for Hogsmeade, unless they weren't going, Pansy finally decided to speak.

"Why'd you bring me out here? And why are you so happy?" She asked, and my heart broke into pieces as I listened to her hollow voice.

I narrowed my eyes slightly as I looked at the girl properly and noticed the dark bags under her eyes, the redness of her nose and her disheveled robes. Without answering or even thinking I took the girl into my arms, my right hand instantly finding its way to the back of the girl's head stroking her hair comfortingly.

"W-What are you doing?" Pansy asked in a shaky voice, as she hesitantly wrapped her own arms around my waist, her hands settling on the small of my back.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice soft as I spoke.

"What do you mean? I'm fine," Pansy replied.

I moved back a little, not allowing my hands to leave the girls sides as I looked into her eyes, "You're not, I used to notice it all the time before, but you seem… Worse."

Pansy's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean worse?" She asked trying to pull away from me.

I pulled the struggling girl back towards me, and held tight as she tried to force me off of her, "I'm just trying to help Pansy, I had other plans for today… Well not really plans but, you're in pain Pansy, I'm not going to ignore it anymore."

Pansy stopped struggling and instead pushed my shoulders softly; I moved with the girl's hands which stopped as we came face to face. Without warning the Pansy quickly moved forwards, her left hand pressed against the back of my neck and pulled me forwards while her right hand pulled my waist towards her. Our lips met in a sharp kiss just before our bodies met and the warmth that wafted from the girl seemed doubled to what I had felt when we were simply embracing.

I sighed as electricity ran through my body, starting from my lips and radiating throughout the rest of my body before settling in my core, setting it ablaze. My eyes closed and for just a few fleeting moments I felt blissful, as our lips pressed together everything else in the world simply floated away, or maybe Pansy and I had floated away from the world, it didn't matter.

But all too soon Pansy pulled away, as I opened my eyes, I saw that Pansy's eyes were shining with tears, "Now you know just one of the reasons," Pansy hissed as she pulled away.

I tightened my hold around Pansy's waist, "It's okay Pansy," I spoke quickly as she continued to struggle against my grip.

"How is it okay?" Pansy asked painfully, "I've developed feelings for someone who hates me."

My brow furrowed in confusion as I wondered how she didn't realize how I felt after the kiss that we had just shared and in an attempt to show her the truth I pressed my lips to hers. After a quick shove, Pansy successfully pushed me away from her, but I still had a hold on her waist.

"Pansy stop, I'm trying to show you how I feel," I pleaded but she didn't seem to hear me as her face flushed with anger.

"Let go of me!" The Slytherin yelled as she continued to struggle against me, but I held strong, determined to convey my feelings to the older girl.

"Pansy please just listen! I'm trying to tell you something important!" I yelled, but Pansy continued to struggle, huffing in annoyance I stopped fighting Pansy and instead pushed in the same direction that she was pulling me in, toppling the both of us over and onto the moist stone pathway. Pansy grunted in pain as I landed on top of her, but before she could react, I planted a forceful kiss onto her lips.

"JUST LISTEN!" I screamed as she was silent beneath me, breathing heavily I buried my face into Pansy's neck, "I'm trying to tell you that I have feelings for you too," I whispered into her ear.

"No," Pansy said, her voice shaking, "No that can't be. I've been horrible to you, how could you have… No there is no way you have."

"Pansy I have, I know its hard to believe, it was hard for me to believe at first too and I fought it as well, but I just… I don't know there is something about you, something that draws me to you," I explained.

"Oh, how sweet," My blood ran cold as the voice filled my ears, "The little redhead and the bitch fell for each other." Pansy and I scrambled to our feet, Crabbe and Goyle stood a few feet away snickering at us while Draco stared at Pansy with a deep look of contempt and hatred burning in his eyes. He shook his head as he smiled dangerously at his fellow Slytherin, "I'll be seeing you later Pansy," His words held nothing but malice as he spoke before the three of them left for the castle.

"Shit!" Pansy cursed.

I quickly grabbed her hand in mine and held it tightly, "Don't worry Pansy. We can deal with Draco together." Pansy squeezed my hand comfortingly as she glared at the door that the three other Slytherins had disappeared through. Thinking as quickly as I could I jumped into Pansy's line of sight, "Pansy, listen to me," Her glare softened as she looked into my eyes, "We will deal with it together okay?"

Pansy nodded, but I could still see that the black-haired girl was worried, and I couldn't blame her, the look in Draco's eyes was somewhat terrifying.


End file.
